I was chatting with one of the biggest Caps fans I know on the night of March 30, as the Sabres seemed on the verge of handing Washington yet another dispiriting, momentum-crushing, playoff-threatening loss. He and I were ticking off many of the team’s problems, and we both said it sure seemed like Mike Green would never again be the player he once was.

Well, you know what happened next. Green scored the tying goal in Buffalo with less than a minute left. The Caps won in overtime. Since then, the Caps are 7-0-1. And Green — who had four goals in his first 21 games (including that Buffalo blast) — scored six goals in those next eight games.

My friend and I weren’t the only ones choosing the precise wrong time to criticize Green. One longtime fan — whose family has had Caps season tickets for 15 years — sent this tweet during that Sabres game.

@greenlife52 looks like he could absolutely care less. Beyond time for him to go

Athletes often ignore the flood of negative tweets that invariably come their way. Green chose not to ignore this one.

“You should put your foot in your mouth,” the blue-liner responded. “Love people like you and wish you all the best. #Caps #Winning.”

“To all the true caps fans all the love from #greenlife52,” he later wrote.

And that would have been that. Except his original critic, seeking to have a little fun with the incident, printed out a copy of Green’s response and brought it to Sunday night’s season ticket holder’s event at Six Flags. And gave it to Green for an autograph.

Nothing says “Boomtown D.C.” better than a new seafood restaurant with a cocktail menu inspired by famous vessels, including one with a $40 price tag featuring Martell XO, Grand Marnier and passion fruit juice. Via Young and Hungry.

WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

The Nats are in Miami at 7 on MASN. The Wizards are in Brooklyn at 7:30 on Comcast SportsNet. All TV and radio listings are here.

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